Notre Dame casts about for coaching candidates

CHICAGO — Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz would be a perfect fit at Notre Dame: smart, savvy, personable and, perhaps most important, a proven winner.

Wanting him to come to South Bend and getting him to come to South Bend are two different things, however.

In fact, luring Ferentz away from Iowa may be nearly impossible.

Would Ferentz be willing to talk to Notre Dame about is head coaching vacancy? Possibly. He and Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White have a longstanding relationship that dates to White’s hiring Ferentz for his first head-coaching job in 1990 at Maine.

But Ferentz is a fixture at Iowa, where he coached the offensive line throughout the ‘80s and has been head coach since 1999. In 2002, Ferentz led Iowa to a school-record 11 victories and its first Big Ten title since 1990. The Hawkeyes secured a share of the conference title again this season with a 7-1 conference record, 9-2 overall, prompting Iowa to offer a lucrative contract extension that could keep Ferentz in Iowa City through 2012.

His base salary starts at $1.2 million annually, but incentives and performance bonuses could push the package beyond $1.6 million.

Plus his son, Brian, is a junior offensive lineman with the Hawkeyes and another son, James, is a highly regarded prospect at City High School in Iowa City.

Ferentz did not return telephone messages left at his home and office on Saturday.

One problem Notre Dame may encounter in trying to land him is the perception that his friend White is only nominally in charge of the athletic department.

Sources have indicated that it was White’s desire to retain fired coach Tyrone Willingham, but he was overridden by a group of overzealous trustees and alumni.

So where else can the Irish turn?

According to the Associated Press, Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci said Notre Dame had approached him, but he wasn’t interested.

“I am absolutely 100 percent committed to the Detroit Lions and my desire to build the Lions into a winner,” Mariucci said in a statement.

The remaining list, such as it is, is short on big names.

Former Irish star Tom Clements, a three-year starter who quarterbacked Notre Dame’s 1973 national champions, would relish the opportunity to return to his alma mater. But as of Saturday afternoon, Clementshad not been contacted.

Clements, offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, is highly regarded by Notre Dame’s former players and coaches, but he has never been a head coach. His only college experience came as Lou Holtz’s quarterbacks coach for the Irish from 1992-95 after he stopped practicing law. Before joining the Bills, he spent seven seasons coaching quarterbacks for three NFL teams.

Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, a Notre Dame graduate who didn’t play college football, also would be interested, according to a source. But Weis’ last college experience came in 1988 when he served as an assistant at South Carolina. He’s been coaching in the NFL.

California coach Jeff Tedford is another hot commodity, but he’s beloved on the Berkeley campus, the most successful football coach at the school in more than 50 years, and Cal will go to great lengths to retain him.